very OT sorry

Hi Muggs,

My son is using the program Gamemaker. He makes very nice 2D and 3D games with this program. It's easy to start with and making your own games. When you're more advanced you can also do some programming in it. The program is free to download

and there are also sample programs on the website.

The forum of this program is also very active

\/\/im

"Muggs":..

I would also recommend contacting games manufacturers for information. We used to have Acclaim games here on Long Island, and although they have since went under, they used to hire teens part time to be game testers. This allowed kids to get their foot in the door and also allowed to company to sort out the "cream of the crop" talent to go after and hone for the future. There may be other gaming companies in your area to investigate that might do that type of thing. It couldn't hurt to give that a try, at the very least they should be able to give you direction.

Scott

Muggs wrote

What is his age? Has he been around computers a lot in his lifetime?

Learning software like 3d studio max and Maya would be a good start. Graphic design is another field that he should know. There are schools that offer courses specifically in 3d game design.

quick google search came up with this link

Your kid isn't the only one. I think a lot of young people these days think they can do this for a living.

I remember reading some years ago that a school in Vancouver, BC, was starting what was supposedly the first program in game design, so I did a Google search on "game design vancouver" and pulled up their site:

That same search also found this site:

They're not news groups, but he or his folks might find them of interest. There might be some links to news groups on their sites, though I didn't spot any right off the bat.

Jerry Steiger Tripod Data Systems "take the garbage out, dear"

Hey, thanks guys!

I knew that someone(s) here would know of something. VERY helpful stuff, I'll pass it along. I'm sure they will be grateful as I am to you all.

Muggs

Some of these groups may be helpful, There are games groups in other hierarchies besides comp, don't be afraid to use your news readers newsgroup search tool.

comp.ai.games comp.games.development.art comp.games.development.audio comp.games.development.design comp.games.development.industry comp.games.development.programming.algorithms comp.games.development.programming.misc comp.games.misc comp.games.video comp.os.os2.games comp.sources.games comp.sources.games.bugs comp.sys.acorn.games comp.sys.amiga.games comp.sys.ibm.games.action comp.sys.ibm.games.adventure comp.sys.ibm.games.flight-sim comp.sys.ibm.pc.games comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.adventure comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.announce comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flight-sim comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.flightsim comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.marketplace comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.misc comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.naval comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.space-sim comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.sport comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.sports comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategy comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.war-historical comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.games comp.sys.mac.games comp.sys.mac.games.action comp.sys.mac.games.adventure comp.sys.mac.games.announce comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim comp.sys.mac.games.marketplace comp.sys.mac.games.misc comp.sys.mac.games.strategic comp.sys.mac.programmer.games

Well of course for real studio work he will need to know Max, Maya etc.and there are student editions of those available and they have their own forums I think. Websites like this one might be a help

there are many out there that have just the sort of info your neighbour needs about gaming in particular if they go searching. There is quite a bit to creating games - concept art,story, sound etc so there is potential to do related stuff even if he misses out on the glamour job of animator.Maybe he should take an overview of the industry activity before he sets his sights on one particular job. There is a lot of competition.CG stuff seems to attract youth like being an astronaut once did.

On a side note- if he would like to experiment with animation a bit as a hobby - because it might be a passing phase (no insult intended) -there is Blender -free open source.

can see a screen shot on the home page from a 10 min movie short called Elephants Dream finished recently and which should be available to download from the net in a few weeks.About beginning of June a new release of Blender should be out incorporating a lot of goodies that emerged from the studio during that production. Most Blender users at the forum are 15-25 but of all nationalities. Blender has a game engine although it is a bit restricted and I don't think I would recommend it as a stepping stone. HTH

If he wants to get into the art part of the game, Sheridan College in (Oakville, Ontario,) Canada might be a good start. Thier animation programme is highly renowned and industry seems to scoop most of the grads up.

Although I would argue that coding is (or at least can be) another form of artful expression, animation is certainly 'art' as everyone knows it. So, concentrate on an art school that will give a foundation in how to draw what.

This is recommended because, barring luck, opportunity, and soft-skills, (educational) credentials are the universal discriminators in the job market.

In my opinion he should definitely start learning OpenGL. It is very easy and there are lots of online tutorials, such as

I learned OpenGL from such sources of information, and pretty soon I was able to write simple games, screensavers e.t.c. It was damn fun.

-h-